


However You Can

by CozyEmblem



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Threesome - F/M/M, final boss spoiler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:28:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26852980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CozyEmblem/pseuds/CozyEmblem
Summary: As Zagreus' journey to escape Tartarus becomes all-consuming, the two people closest to him stop him for just a moment to settle the air and to give one another respite.-Or, Meg and Than conspire to sit Zag down and tell him he's being a fool.
Relationships: Megaera/Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Zagreus/Thanatos/Megaera (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 128





	However You Can

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to have a little exploratory writing to try and get into writing these characters. I may write more at some point, but for now I just wanted to have some fun, no lofty fic ideas. Enjoy, chef.

It was cruel, in its own way, to kindle tenderness in those he planned to leave behind. Crueler yet was the way they worked their way into his bones each and every time he crested to the surface only to be smitten all over again by a man who would never see him as anything but a nuisance. Smitten. Each time he saw their faces, each time his blades, his fists, his arrows cut into Megaera and sent her back home, each time his bullets obliterated the shades and earned Thanatos’ irritation as he anointed Zagreus with better odds of leaving him behind. Two reasons to say warred in his heart and he did his best to calficy them like the gorgon’s stare. He had to leave. There was no other option.

He refused to even glance at Hypnos, to hear a word his father said as he stalked back towards his room. Almost. This time had been another almost and he was sick of them.

“Zagreus.” Meg’s soft voice cut through his anger like a whip. She was standing next to his bedroom and his heart leapt, uninterested in his desire to keep it still.

“Ah, are we to have our fight here this time?” Zag asked, smirking inside of his mind even as his mouth remained still. “I must say, there are easier ways to change the decor.”

“We need to talk.” Meg said, ignoring his nonsense. It was that more than anything that said he absolutely did not need that.

“Or perhaps,” He said, stepping past her. “You will find my father emerging in my stead this time.”

“Damn it, Zag,” Meg said but he was already passing Skelly, who tilted his head in a frown as he watched the Prince stalk past without a word. As he found the silence of the first chamber of Tartarus, he took a deep breath that tasted of ash as images of what it might mean to stay flashed through his mind. When he began to wonder what Meg’s lips tasted of his eyes snapped open.

“Right, let’s get to it, then.” He said to himself as he checked the boon. “Ah, damn. In the name of Hades, I accept this message.”

“Ah,” Aphrodite said, the scent of roses and an undercurrent of pulsing blood filling the space. “Little Hades, I sense you have entered _my_ domain for a change. It would be boring to tell you to follow your heart, so why not just enjoy yourself however you can?” A soft laugh lingered as she disappeared and Zagreus felt his blood pumping rapidly through his chest.

“Is there a good god among them?” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair and steeling himself as best he could. “Right, let’s make this one count.” Perhaps. Perhaps if he were good enough this time he might never have to make a decision. If he reached the surface and got past his father, well. Then he would only have to deal with the fallout and the inevitability of Than finding him. Eventually.

He was thankful to see Alecto, an alarming emotion but he sent her home without too much trouble. And then he lost one chance in his bout with the bone hydra. He stumbled up the stairs to Elysium hating himself the whole way. What if this had been the one? Fate had it out for him as he held the bell chime.

“Hello, Than.” He said without looking, a cool chill descending around him.

“You really are a fool.” Than said. “You left Meg behind and you believe this time you will make it out and avoid consequence?”

“Have you come only to berate me?” Zagreus said. “This is an interesting development.”

“You really are insufferable, aren’t you?” Than asked. “Come then, show me you’re worth it.” In the end, Zagreus defeated only a single shade more. “See you back home.” He said and disappeared. Zag bit his tongue, knowing he would only sound petty if he replied now. He grabbed the Centaur’s heart and continued on.

“You truly are the worst child, boy.” Hades said as Zag’s footsteps melted the snow to water and mud.

“Perhaps,” Zagreus said. “Though with a father like you, I suppose that makes us a pair.” Hades lifted his spear.

He made it all the way to the end. One blow. That’s all it would have took. One more chance and he would have made it, but then he saw the spear swinging towards him and he fell.

“You uh, still aren’t showing up in my logs.” Hypos said as he passed. “Should I be concerned?”

“Be whatever you want to be.” Zag said, passing the empty desk and a suspiciously empty hall. “This doesn’t bode well.” He said, stepping into his chambers. Meg stood in the doorway, barring the path to the armory. “Meg-”

“Sit down, Zag.” She said, sounding so weary of his nonsense.

“Giving me orders again?” Zag asked, pretending amusement. “Meg, I-” The whip cracked and his heart leapt. _Why not just enjoy yourself however you can?_ Aphrodite asked in his mind as his blood pumped into his chest. Megaera raised an eyebrow.

“Sit.” She said and he crossed the room to the bed, sitting on the edge. He tried to place his feelings, to predict what might be coming but instead he heard a chime.

“Oh no,” He groaned.

“Thank you,” Thanatos said to Meg. She looked away from his eyes, her arms crossed and her whip coiled around her hand. “Zag, we’re going to talk.”

“And what if I-”

“Stop being a child.” Thanatos broke in. “You’re petulant every time you come home and I refuse to let that be my last memory of you.”

“Your… last memory.” Zag repeated.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Than asked. “You’re getting stronger every time I pass you.”

“I won by a single shade.”

“I am Death Himself.” Thanatos said and Zag felt a chill run down his spine. He had thought that, perhaps, Than had been letting him win all this time. He never would have asked, but this… “I don’t understand why you want to leave this place so desperately, but I don’t have to. I just want to know why you’re leaving me.”

“Than,” Zag said, his voice soft.

“I would like to know as well.” Meg said from the door. “You do all this work to return to my good graces and I let you and then you pass me without so much as a word.”

“I was worried you would ask me to stay.” Zag said and Thanatos sighed.

“Why do I care about such a stupid man?” He said, more to himself.

“We’ve asked you to stay a hundred times.” Meg said. “What do you think we could say to change your mind this time?”

“You could…” Zag began and, realizing there was no other course, he continued. “Tell me how you feel.”

“We have been this entire time.” Than said. “I have no reason to play that foolish game with you when I could just as easily send you home myself.”

“Both of you?” Zag asked. “Isn’t that… some conflict of interest? Surely there’s something in the employee contract.” Meg’s whip uncoiled, the tip dropping to the floor.

“How about I give you a bath and you control that tongue of yours next time?” She asked and Zag shivered. He hoped neither of them saw, but he noted the smirk on Meg’s lips. He looked away.

“We’ve talked.” Than said. “The only problem is you. As always.” Zag laughed.

“And what if I decide to stay because the two of you start showing me a good time?”

“Then you’re weak and didn’t deserve to leave in the first place.” Than said, stepping forward. “Say the words. One way or the other. Invite us in or at least stop running.”

“I…” Zag cleared his throat. He glanced at Meg and back to Than, two dire expressions on two beautifully carved faces. “I would like you to stay. If you would have me.”

“That’s all you had to say.” Thanatos said, stepping forward and capturing Zag’s jaw in his firm grasp. “It’s all you ever had to say you damn fool.” His kiss was firm and Zag was quite sure he was going to combust. The moment he felt Meg’s fingers grip his hair and tear his mouth from Than’s only bite his lower lip and pull back until it slipped from her grasp he was certain of it.

His night became flesh and heat, pain and euphoria, all of it mixed once their three bodies found their rhythm and then invented new ones. By the end of it all, the three of them were a tangle of limbs, their clothes and the tools of their trades discarded on the bedroom floor. Zag’s body bore the bite of the whip, of nails, and of teeth and he had never felt so at peace.

“What comes next?” He asked.

“Didn’t expect you to be so insatiable.” Meg mused and Zag blushed. She grinned.

“What’s next is you succeed. And for all the moments in between, nights like these.”

“Don’t you have work?” Zag asked. Than scoffed.

“Of course, but what are they going to do?” He rose and Zag appreciated the show as he pulled his clothes back into place. “Kill me?” He lay there with Meg for a long while, holding her close and was surprised as she drifted to sleep in his arms. He noted that Than hadn’t said how he would succeed.

“Neatly done.” He said, praying that he could avoid Aphrodite’s boon for as long as possible so he wouldn’t have to hear her gloat.


End file.
